Now this is serious - frequent flier points to Bonaire doubled!!!

[Charred]

What dates are you looking at?

Also this is why most people suggest accumulating points in a transferable currency such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, etc. Maybe you are a United Frequent Flier for business so that is why you have that stash. But with flexible points you can transfer to various airlines within different alliances to maximize your odds of finding flights. I was just in the United website so I took a quick peak and I saw 40k flights during the month of April and May, not sure of your dates. I was having issues clicking on the dates so wondering if they are phantom or not but you can always call to inquire.

The yearly fee on the United card is not awful because you get the free checked bag and 2 club passes, but there are other ways to get those perks too, all depends on how often you fly United specifically vs how often you fly in general and are not tied to a specific airline. With how programs are going these days (devalue) chasing status on an airline is having diminishing returns in my opinion.

I've booked a lot of trips on miles and points all over the world, feel free to ask for advice!

+1

I get my points through business travel but for for personal use I use Chase Sapphire Reserve. Your points are just credits so you either get a free flight or a discount. Any airline. Lots of other perks like no transaction fees, credits for TSA clearance, etc. You get bonus points on hotels and restaurants.

 

[jimw]

Can always by a $220.00 RT to Cancun and do a drift dive to Bonaire

$110. oneway to Cancun might be the wizer choice!

 

[eggzlot]

@mbs - no problem - just look at Chase, Amex or Citi. I personally lean towards Chase and AMEX. Depends on where you put your daily spend. Are you more into dining out and travel (look at Chase) or more into Supermarkets, gas, etc (look at AMEX Every Day Preferred). Amex every day preferred is 3x points on supermarkets, 2x points on gas and 1x on everything else, but if you make 30 purchases or more in a month you get a 50% bonus on all spend so its really 4.5x, 3x and 1.5x on your purchases. I pair that with an AMEX Platinum Card to get 5x on flights (I fly for business) and the other perks of the Platinum card. If you spend a lot on your credit cards (and pay them off) you have access to transfer your points to Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Alitalia, ANA, Asia Miles, British Airways, Delta, El Al, Emirates, Ethiad, Hawaiian, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic. Chase has their own partners such as British Airways, Air France/KLM, Korean Air, Singapore, Southwest, United and Virgin Atlantic. As you can see, Amex or Chase give you options to transfer at a 1:1 ratio to several airlines that cover all the major alliances.

so if you are not tied to an airline because of business travel, then start earning flexible currency so you are not stuck with 1 airline. Grant it, not many airlines are flying NYC>BON but like you said for a flight to CO or other trips, flexibility is key.

 

[mbs]

Can always by a $220.00 RT to Cancun and do a drift dive to Bonaire

And to think I let you slide with the Russia comment... Like how's the diving there I'll pass on Cancun, I prefer a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere.

 

[mbs]

@eggzlot thanks for that info! I'll look into it.

 

[eggzlot]

@mbs - check out http://thepointsguy.com or Million Mile Secrets for good entry blogs into the world of earning and spending points. there are 100s of blogs dedicated to this world but these two are the most newbie/user friendly to get you going. You learn to get creative.

I used Amex points which I transferred to Delta to book a flight from NY to New Zealand on China Southern Airlines in business class! People see United miles and try to book only on United but see who united partners with and look to expand your options. Again, for bonaire not really doable but could help you with other flights . That is why transferable points are better, you can shop around and likely earn those points faster. airline credit cards are junk unless you fly that airline a lot. if you fly 1x a year or something just pay for premium economy, get a better seat, you get a checked bag, and dont pay a yearly credit card fee. and earn your points elsewhere